


four mugs

by kiyala



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, Jaegercon Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-05
Updated: 2013-08-05
Packaged: 2017-12-22 12:43:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/913357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tendo's relationships, as told through mugs of coffee.</p>
            </blockquote>





	four mugs

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my "coffee" square of [Jaegercon Bingo](http://jaegercon.tumblr.com/post/57225250646/).

_One mug._

Tendo is fifteen, and his grandfather introduces him to the magic in a mug that is coffee. He hates it at first sip, but he's seen his grandfather drinking it so often that he pushes his initial response down and takes another sip, then another. It smells wonderful, and the more he drinks, the more he likes it. He looks up at his grandfather with a small smile, and the smile he receives in reply warms him in a way that even the coffee can't. 

From there, it becomes a ritual that they both share. Tendo's parents don't care much for coffee, preferring tea, and so it's just the two of them, spending afternoons together. Sometimes they talk, sometimes they don't and either way, they sit there, enjoying each other's company while they enjoy their coffee. With school, with money problems, with more stress than Tendo needs at his age, he learns an important lesson from his grandfather, from the coffee. He learns to relax. 

It's something he needs a lot, for the coming years.

_Two mugs._

Tendo's grandfather has been dead for three years now. Exactly three years; it's the third anniversary of K-Day and while there are candles lit around the entire world, Tendo is one of the several thousand to whom the day has personal significance. 

He doesn't have time to mourn. He didn't have the time then, and he has even less of it now. He doesn't mind it, not really, when he's sitting in LOCCENT, doing all he can to help the Jaeger pilots against the Kaiju that just keep coming and coming. There are people who celebrate the Jaegers, who think that this is some kind of game. Tendo is the kind of person who does his best to see the positive side of any situation—yet another lesson taught to him by his grandfather—but he can't join the hype for this. Not when he wants nothing more than to help find a way to close the Breach for once and for all, but the two attempts that the PPDC has made of this already have failed—both at the cost of Jaegers—and there's little Tendo can do from where he is, except give them data and hope they can use it in a meaningful way.

Six years after K-Day and it's still as solemnly observed as the first anniversary. Tendo supposes that it's because the Kaiju war is ongoing, because everyone is constantly surrounded by reminders that the world has been permanently changed by these attacks. It keeps the pain of his grandfather's death fresh and he's in the tiny chapel attached to the Shatterdome when he meets Alison for the first time. 

She's wearing the same stony expression that Tendo can feel on his own face; one that speaks of loss, of anger, pain, determination. He sits down beside her and she glances at him, inclines her head in greeting, and is lost in her thoughts once again. 

Tendo thinks about his grandfather. Then, for the week that follows, he spends most of his time thinking about Alison.

_Three mugs._

She raises an eyebrow at him when he comes to the cafeteria table with three mugs of coffee and two sandwiches. 

"One for me, two for you?" she asks, and clicks her tongue. "Really. And here I thought you knew me."

"That much coffee isn't good for you," Tendo tells her, mock-serious. 

"Oh, well in that case, I'm just looking out for you." She takes the third mug by the handle and pulls it closer to her.

"Hey!" He reaches for it. Their fingers meet around the warm ceramic, and their gazes snap to each other. Neither of them move their fingers away.

Alison's phone buzzes, and she snatches her hand away. "That's Michael. I have to go."

He watches her get up and leave, and sighs heavily. He pulls all three mugs over to his side of the table. Three coffees, two sandwiches. Lucky him.

_Four mugs._

"Now we're talking," Alison says approvingly, nodding at Tendo when he comes to the table with four mugs and two sandwiches. 

"You know," he tells her, when they're both halfway through their second mug, "I don't know anyone else who doesn't judge the amount of coffee I consume, let alone anyone who keeps up with me."

"Coffee addiction," Alison says, drawing a line in the air. She draws another line in the air, high above it. "Tendo Choi."

He laughs at that. "Pretty much."

It's quiet at the moment, so they sit there for an hour, talking about whatever comes to mind. Tendo finds himself talking about his grandfather. Alison talks about her parents, who were holidaying in San Francisco. He doesn't even know which one of them reaches forward first, but they spend a good half of their conversation holding hands. Alison's phone rings. She ignores it. It rings again, ten minutes later. Tendo is about to let go when she tightens her grip. 

She knows what she wants. Tendo's pretty sure he knows what he wants, too.

_Four mugs._

"I heard this rumour," Alison whispers to him conspiratorially, her hands on his shoulders. "I heard that LOCCENT Officer Tendo Choi is _stealing_ Alison van Kanne from her boyfriend."

" _Stealing_?" Tendo asks, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't think you were Michael's property. Here I was, thinking that you could make your own decisions."

Alison laughs, and Tendo knows that he's said the right thing. When she kisses him, she tastes like the coffee she'd had earlier. Tendo kisses back, pulling her closer. 

"Take me to your room," she tells him, and covers his mouth with her hand before he can ask if she's sure. "Look at me, making my own damn decisions."

Tendo grins against her hand. He's going to get his ass handed to him for this. Michael's a big guy and he knows how to punch. It'll be worth it.

_Four mugs._

Alison's pregnant and she's grateful for the fact that coffee is one of the few things she hasn't lost the taste for. She sits on the couch, beautiful as ever, and Tendo carries their four mugs into the living room. His wedding ring clinks against the handle of one of the mugs as he sets it down on the table. He never gets tired of hearing it.

"Have you thought of what we're going to call her?" Tendo asks.

"Him," Alison corrects. "It's going to be a him. I'm sure of it."

A few months later, she gives birth to Felix Choi. He's strong, he's healthy, and Tendo promises himself that Felix is going to grow up in a world without monsters rampaging through cities. By the time Felix is old enough to form memories that last, there aren't going to be any more Kaiju. It's a big promise, and he's only one person. He doesn't know how he's going to make it happen, but he will. Somehow.

_Four mugs._

He doesn't realise what he's done until he gets to his desk and puts all four mugs down. 

Alison's at home with Felix, on the other side of the Pacific and then a few hundred miles into the safe zone. Still, out of habit, he's made four mugs of coffee; two to his taste, two to hers. 

He sits down heavily and toys with his rosary. At least they're safe for now. He doesn't know how much longer any of them are going to be safe, if Pentecost's plan doesn't work. All he can do is work as hard as he can and when it comes down to it, he's probably going to need all four of those mugs of coffee anyway. 

He raises a mug of Alison's coffee to his lips first, pretends that he's tasting it from her lips instead. She's waiting for him to come home. So is Felix.

Tendo gets back to work.


End file.
